Aiming to have lack of cell service heard
WREN conducting second cell phone service survey
With a month to go, close to 1,000 responses have already been received by the Western Regional Enterprise Network (WREN) to a cell phone service survey it is conducting.
It's the second cell phone survey conducted by the WREN in the past year.
The first survey, which ran from December 2022 to Jan. 23, 2023, documented the wide range of cellular access issues that impacted workplace productivity, said Jakob Postlewaite, WREN communications coordinator.
The current survey is focused on specific instances of cell service coverage issues within the Western region in Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne counties.
The survey comes on the heels of a $47.3-million announcement on Oct. 26, 2023, by the province for the new Cellular for Nova Scotia Program to expand telecommunications infrastructure and communications networks throughout Nova Scotia.
Build Nova Scotia has been charged by the provincial government to plan, design, and manage the implementation of the expanded cellular coverage program.
The WREN survey, which closes on Jan. 31, is being conducted to ensure the region's issues are on Build Nova Scotia's radar as work on the expanded cellular coverage program progresses.
“The Western REN shared (with Build Nova Scotia) the results of our first cell survey, which was to ensure cell coverage was being discussed not only for emergency services (which is critical), but also how the lack of reliable service impacts how we work and do business,” said Postlewaite.
“We intend to share with Build Nova Scotia the results of this survey as well, which will help illustrate specific times and places cell issues are occurring. We know cell service has been deteriorating for quite some time, so we are gathering the data the same way cell companies do, and getting as many specifics as we can.”
Postlewaite said regional enterprise networks across Nova Scotia participate in quarterly meetings with Build Nova Scotia.
Once the survey is completed,
Postlewaite said the Western REN will be sharing overall results on their social media channels and website.
“The raw data will be available to our municipal partners in order to ensure that identified problem areas are included in future plans for upgrades.”
FIRST SURVEY RESULTS
The WREN received 534 responses to their first survey that documented cellular access issues that impacted workplace productivity.
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said they experienced very unreliable cell service in the workplace. Only 14 per cent of respondents said it was reliable.
Seventy-eight per cent of respondents said they experienced unreliable cell service while commuting. Fifty-one per cent of respondents said they experienced very unreliable cell service during work commutes. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents said they
experienced very unreliable cell service while traveling on 100 series highways. Only three per cent said it was reliable.
According to the survey, the top 10 locations of noticeably poor cell reception in western Nova Scotia were Yarmouth, Tusket, Barrington, Pubnico, Woods Harbour, Carleton, Weymouth, Barrington Passage, Digby Neck and Brass Hill.
CELLULAR PROGRAM
The first phase of the Cellular for Nova Scotia program aims to improve cell coverage in the short term using existing infrastructure. A request for proposals (RFP) for innovative and cost-effective solutions closed on Nov. 30.
“We received submissions to the RFP and are currently evaluating these responses. We expect to make a decision on the first phase of proposals in the coming months,” said Beverley Ware, Director of Marketing and Communications
at Build Nova Scotia.
“Once a bid decision is made, we will begin negotiating Service Delivery Agreement(s) and Contribution Agreements with the successful proponent(s). After that, we will be in a position to announce the results. Our goal is to maximize coverage and achieve high value for public investment, including in the Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne area.”
In Phase 2, the aim will be to close the remaining gaps in cellular coverage with new infrastructure.
“We are taking a twophased approach with Phase 1 focused on improving cellular coverage using existing infrastructure. In the second phase, we will focus on coverage in the remaining gap areas using new infrastructure,” said Ware. “While telecommunications are the responsibility of the federal government, Nova Scotia is working proactively to correct gaps across the province.”
Ware said Build Nova Scotia is aware of coverage gaps in the Tri-County area. “Approximately 1,800 civic addresses and 70 kilometers of primary roads are in underserved areas,” she said.
“It will take time to fully address all these gaps. Given this project will require the construction of net new cellular infrastructure across the province, the Cellular for Nova Scotia is a multi-year improvement program.”
Province-wide, there are more than 21,000 civic addresses with no cellular coverage out of 461,000 addresses and many commonly traveled roads across the province have poor cell service or none at all.